A new survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) reveals that only 29 per cent of farmers say the federal emergency funding that was recently announced will be helpful for their agri-business.

“We are hearing heart-breaking stories about farmers having to plough down crops, destroy produce, or contemplate putting down their livestock due to reduced capacity at processing facilities or changes in market demand brought on by COVID-19,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s vice-president of Western Canada and agri-business. “The government needs to move fast and provide more support for the entire industry to protect Canada’s food supply.”

The federal government announced $252M in emergency funding to help farmers and processing facilities adapt to the pandemic and $5B in increased lending capacity through Farm Credit Canada.

“We understand there are enormous challenges in designing support programs and getting them out quickly, so we appreciate the government’s willingness to change and improve emergency programs such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), based on feedback from small businesses and groups like CFIB,” added Braun-Pollon.

CFIB’s surveys found that:

- 42 per cent of farmers in the livestock sector said the emergency relief will be helpful for their agri-business, while almost 50 per cent said it will not be helpful

- 25 per cent of fruit, vegetables and horticultural farms and 28 per cent of food product processing say the emergency relief will be helpful

- 40 per cent of agri-business owners are worried the “new normal” will not be sustainable for their business

“While the $252M in emergency funding is a good first step, these survey results indicate there is much more needed to address the devastating impacts of COVID -19 on the agriculture sector,” noted Braun-Pollon. “The federal government has indicated “these measures are an initial investment and if we need to add more we will” – well the time is now to do more.”

CFIB is urging the federal government to immediately act on the following:

- Provide additional emergency funding to the agriculture sector to offset lost income resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic

- Improve current Business Risk Management Programs to ensure they are timely, responsive, effective and transparent

- Continue to focus on trade and market access for all Canadian agri-food products.

“While a lot of economic activity has been frozen during the pandemic response, farmers can’t do that. Their animals still need to be fed and cared for. They have tight windows in which they can plant, harvest and get their product to market. Government needs to act quickly to ensure farmers have the support they need,” concluded Braun-Pollon.

This website uses tracking tools, including cookies. We use these technologies for
a variety of reasons, including to recognize new and past website users, to customize
your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites,
apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests.You agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Access by clicking I agree.